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Quality of age data in patients from developing countries
Srdjan Denic1, Falah Khatib, Hussein Saadi
1Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, PO Box 17666, Al Ain, UAE. s.denic@uaeu.ac.ae
Journal of Public Health (Oxford, England)
|July 31, 2004
Summary
Age data quality is poor in cancer patients from developing countries, with a common preference for ages ending in 0 or 5. This age misreporting can bias study results.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Demography
- Public Health
Background:
- Age misreporting is prevalent in demographic studies, but its extent in clinical cancer cohorts remains unclear.
- This study investigates age misreporting patterns in cancer patients from developing nations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze single-year age distribution and terminal digit preference in cancer patients from developing countries.
- To assess the quality of age data in clinical research involving cancer patients.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of single-year age distribution for 3874 cancer patients from 72 countries, primarily the Indian subcontinent and Middle East, residing in the UAE.
- Evaluation of terminal digit preference using Whipple's index (WI) and Myers blended method to assess age data quality.
Main Results:
- Low age data quality was observed in cancer patients from the Indian subcontinent (WI = 177) and Middle Eastern countries (WI = 113-204).
- Females generally provided higher quality age data than males across all nationalities.
- A preference for ages ending in '0' and '5' was noted in most populations, with an exception for UAE male citizens regarding the digit '0'.
Conclusions:
- The cohort of cancer patients from developing countries exhibited low age data quality.
- A common tendency to report ages ending in '0' or '5' was identified.
- Researchers conducting studies in developing countries should critically evaluate age data quality to prevent potential biases and ensure study robustness.